Process and apparatus for treating lengths of material



R. VON GRUBER-REHENBURG ET Al. 2,115,630

PROCESS AND` APPARATS FOR TREATING LENGTHS OF MATERIAL AApril ze, 193s.

Filed Nov. 15, 1935 IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII a K rrrrf .r r fr fr I ---.1111 .Inu

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1 Z M Wm M H l l i l l l l l l l l Il! ,M 7 @n 7l w w, 7 M MN T w Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOB TREATING LENGTHS F MATERIAL poration Application November 13, 1935, Serial No. 49,557 In Germany November 20, 1934 12 Claims.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating a length of material with fluid matters and drying such material in continuous operation, particularly to such an apparatus which is of exceedingly compact design and includes an exchange chamber and in which practically no solvent and very little heat is lost and the treating and drying effect is greatly increased.v

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for treating a length of material with volatile solvents and drying such material, said apparatus containing a very small volume of gas.

A further object of the present invention re- 1-5 sides in the provision of an apparatus for treating a length of material with volatile solvents and drying such material and having all operating mechanisms such as gears, operating and adjusting means for the transport rollers etc. arranged outside of the treating and drying chambers.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for treating a length of material with volatile solvents and drying such material and comprising lat least two chambers for the treatment with volatile solvents, said chambers being interconnected for fluid flow, whereby the solvent nws counter to the direction of the movement of the material.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an apparatus for treating a length of material vwith volatile solvents and drying such material, said apparatus comprising rollers for conducting and transporting the material to be treated and adapted to be kept in a swinging motion, whereby the treating eiect is greatly l increased and` the time required for effective treatment is reduced.

. Another object of the present invention resides 40 in the provision of an apparatus for treating a length oi material with volatile solvents and .drying such material, said apparatus using a drying gas oi.' comparatively low temperature and having provisions for conducting the gas at great 4,5 velocity counter to the direction of movement of the material, said provisions being adapted to also heat the gas while it passes through the apparatus. 3

A further object of this invention is to provide 50 an apparatus for treating a length of material with iluids and drying such material, said apparatus comprising an exchange chamber in which the treated material is moved closely along and counter to the incoming material to be treated,

55 whereby vaporized uid, which might otherwise leave the apparatus along with the treated materi-al, particularly with the air stream caused by the outgoing material, is held back and carried back into the apparatus by the incoming untreated material and particularly by the air adjacent to said incoming material, said exchange chamber preferably being heated for improving the exchange action so that practically no solvent fumes escape from the apparatus.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of an apparatus for treating a length of material with volatile solvents and drying such material, said apparatus comprising `means for drying the incoming untreated material, whereby the impregnating eifect of the volatile solvents is greatly increased, said means preferably consisting in heating means, and/or exposing the untreated material to a current of air, preferably hot air.

Further and other objects'of the present invention will be hereinafter set forth in the accompanying specification and claims and shown in the drawing which, by way ofillustration, shows what we now consider to be a preferred embodiment of our invention.

In vthe drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, longitudinal. sectional .view of an apparatus according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 with covers il removed and taken along line 2-2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Like parts are designated by like numerals in both iigures of the drawing. Y

Referring more particularly to the drawing: I is the housing of the apparatus; this is divided into three subchambers V4, 5, and 6 by means of partitions 2 and 3. Subchambers 4 and 5 contain the treating iiuid and subchamber 6 the means for drying the treated material.

For example, the incoming material 26 may be cleaned in chamber l by treating it with trichlorethylene, and in chamber 5 it may be impregnated withv rubber dissolved in trichlorethylene;Y or chambers I and 5 may both be used for cleaning the material. In the latter case, the cleaning medium is introduced through conduit 1 -into chamber 5 and leaves chamber l through conduit 8. Partition 2 permits a iiowing over of the treating fluid from chamber I into chamber 4. The material to be treated is supported and carried forward by means of rollers Il'in chamber 6 and rollers Il' in chambers l and 5. Some of these rollers, for example, I!" are motor driven. It is to be noted that the common drive 3| for the driven rollers is arranged outside o1' housing I.

Guide rollers I5 are arranged close to the bottom of chamber 5 and rollers 35, 36, 31, 38, and 39 close to the bottom of chambers 4 and 5. The material runs alternately over an upper and a. lower roller. The lower rollers 35, 35, 31, 35, and 39 are moved reciprocatingly and laterally and swing towards and from one another, whereby the soaking and treating eiect is greatly improved. A mechanism for effecting such laterally swinging motion is shown in the drawing. Mo-

tor 51 drives a crank shaft or disc 32 to which two crossheads 53 and 33 are operatively connected by means ofconnecting rods 34 and 34'. By means of shafting 45, rollers 35 and 35 are connected to and reciprocatingly moved by crosshead 33', and, by means of shafting 4I, rollers 35, 31, and 3l are connected to and reciprocatingly moved by crosshead 33.

'I'he gas or air for drying the uid treated material enters chamber 5 through conduit 9 which is arranged across the whole chamber 5 and is provided with a plurality of nozzles 25 so that the air or gas is blown equally over the whole width of the material to be dried. The drying gas or air leaves chamber 5 through conduits I0 which are preferably arranged over the whole width of casing I so that an equal distribution of the current of gas or air is assured over the whole width of the apparatus.

For recuperation of vaporized treating fluid, conduits I l are connected with a fluid recovery apparatus which, in the embodiment of my invention as illustrated, is a condenser 50. 'Ihe condensed vapor leaves this condenser through conduit 5|, and the gas or air now free of vapor leaves the condenser through conduit 52 and is carried back by means of blower 55 to the dis` tributing conduit 5. To conduit 5|, a three-way valve 54 is connected by means of which the condensate may be carried back into the treating chambers 4 and/or 5 or may be conducted through conduit 55 to some other destination. A fresh supply of treating fluid can be introduced through conduit 55.

In chamber 5, partitions I5 are provided which extend from the bottom of the chamber up to close proximity with the upper material support rollers I4. Partitions I5 may be provided with heating means such as steam or hot water pipes 21. Other partitions 22 extend from the upper part of chamber 5 down to close proximity with the lower material conducting rollers I5. Always just one length of material moves between a partition I5 and a partition 22, and the space between the partitions is so small that the drying air or gas passes at high velocity through this space and along the material to be dried. Furthermore, covers I1 are provided immediately above the upper material guide and support rollers I4 so that dead spaces are eliminated, and the apparatus contains a very small volume of air or gas, and that which is contained passes through at high velocity, whereby the drying effect is augmented. Covers I1 may have concave configuration to better accommodate the rollers I4.

Ihere is )ust sumcient space left between covsupport rollers I4' in these chambers and in close proximity with the upper wall of housing I. The finished material leaves the apparatus through exchange chamber I2 which is directly connected with casing I and has preferably at least one wall, for example, I' in common with said casing. Exchange chamber I2 is divided into two channels 42 and 43 by means of partition 20 which may be heated by a hot medium passing through channels or pipes 25 connected with partition 20. In the embodiment of the present invention shown in the drawing, the iinished material enters the exchange chamber through slot II, travels around support roller 30 and leaves the exchange chamber through slot I3. 'I'he fresh untreated material enters the exchange chamber through slot I3 and travels in a direction counter to the travel direction of the nished material along and in close proximity thereto; it is supported by roller 25 which is arranged adiacent to roller 3l. Before entering chamber I2, the untreated material passes over heating means 2| which may be heated by a hot medium passing through conduits I5 or which may be nat and have perforations I5 through which hot air is blown onto the untreated material. 'I'he heating means 2| are arranged directly adjacent to the apparatus and the exchange chamber so that no heat is lost.A

'Ihe apparatus operates as follows:

'Ihe material to be treated first travels adiacent to the heating means 2|; it is thereby dried and heated. The material then enters channel 42 of exchange chamber |2 through slot opening I3 and travels over guide and support roller 29 into channel 43 of chamber I2. Therefrom it enters chamber 4 through slot opening II and travels through said chamber several times downwards and upwards guided by rollers I4' and 31, 35, and 39 and pulled forward by roller I4". In chamber 4, the material is soaked with the treating fluid, the soaking effect being increased by the swinging motion of rollers 31, 35, and 39. From chamber 4, the material travels into chamber 5 through which it is guided and carried by other rollers I4' and swinging rollers 35 and 35. If the apparatus is used for cleaning the material, the cleaning fluid enters through conduit 1, nils chamber 5 and passes over the upper rim of wall 2 into chamber 4 in counterfiow to the material to be treated. The fluid leaves chamber 4 through conduit 5. When the apparatus is used for impregnating only, the impregnating fluid may enter through conduit 1 or l, and different impregnating iluids may be used in chambers 4 and 5. When the apparatus is used first for cleaning and then for impregnating the material, chamber 4 is used for cleaning, and the cleaning iiuid enters through conduit 44 and leaves chamber 4 through conduit 5. Chamber 5 is then used for impregnating, and the impregnating fluid enters through conduit 1. Conduit 44 is provided with valve 45 which isclosed when the apparatus is used for cleaning and impregnating only.

From the fluid treating chamber 5, the material travels into and through the drying chamber 5 and therefrom into and through the exchange chamber I2. As already said, the latter is preferably heated, whereby the transmission of vaporized fluid carried along with the finished material to the air or gas traveling along with the incoming Y untreated material is facilitated, and no treating fluid or vapor thereof passes from chamber I2 into the room where the apparatus is located.

While we believe the above described embodiments of the present invention to be preferred embodiments, we wish it to be understood that we do not desire to be limited to the exact details of process, design, and construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur a person skilled in the art.

' We claim: f Y

l. An apparatus for treating a length of material comprising a chamber for treating the material with liquid matter, a chamber fortreating the material with gaseous matters, an exchange chamber through which the treated material leaves the apparatus and the untreated material enters the apparatus in close proximity with the treated material, and heating means directly connected with said exchange chamber and said apparatus and adapted to heat the untreated material before it enters said exchange chamber; all three chambers and said heating means being directly interconnected and forming one unit.

2. An apparatus for treating a length of material comprising a chamber for treating the material with liquid matter, a chamber for treating the material with gaseous matters, an exchange chamber through which the treated material leaves the apparatus and the untreated material enters the apparatus in close proximity with the treated materiaLand heating means directly connected with said exchange chamber and said apparatus and comprising a member having a heated surface over which the untreated material passes for heating the untreated material before it enters said exchange chamber, all three chambers and said heating means being directly interconnected and forming one unit.

3. An apparatus for treating a length of material comprising a liquid treating chamber having at least two adjacent sub-chambers filled with different treating liquids for consecutively treating the material with different liquid matters in each of said sub-chambers, a gas treating chamber for treating the material with gaseous matters, and an exchange chamber through which the treated material leaves the apparatus and the untreated material enters the apparatus in close proximity with the treated material, said chambers all being directly interconnected and forming one unit.

4. An apparatus for continuously treating a length of material comprising a fluid treating chamber for treating the material with fluid matter, support and transport rollers located in the upper part of said chamber for supporting, conducting and moving said material through said,

chamber, guide rollers located in the lower part of said chamber for guiding said material through said chamber along a predetermined path, said guide rollers being adapted to laterally, reciprocatingly move towards and from one another and to thereby keep the material guided and the adjacent iluid matter in motion for improving contact oi.' said material with said fluid matter.

5. An apparatus for continuously treating a length of material comprising a gas treating chamber for treating the material with gaseous matters, said chamber having an upper closure.

support rollers located in the upper part of said chamber and guide rollers located in the lower part of said chamber for supporting and guiding y said material along a predetermined path, a ceiling immediately above said support rollers and below said upper closure, said ceiling and upper .closure forming a channel for conducting said material therethrough after 1t has been treated.

chamber, which wall is situated parallel to substantially the whole path of the material in said exchange chamber as well as to substantially the whole path of the material in said'iluid treating chamber.

7. An apparatus for continuously treating a length of material comprising a iluid treating chamber for treating the material with a iluid matter, an exchange chamber for conducting the treated material out of the apparatus and the untreated material into said apparatus and in close proximity with and parallel to the treated material for the purposes described, a partition in said exchange chamber dividing said chamber into two narrow parallel channels through each of which incoming untreated and outgoing treated material travels in close proximity with and parallel to one another, and heating means connected with said partition for internally heating said exchange chamber.

8. The process of treating a length of material in continuous operation comprising passing the material through an exchange chamber, immediately thereafter passing it through a treating chamber in which the material is treated with a iluld, immediately thereafter passing the material through a drying chamber in which the vmaterial is treated with a heated gas, and immediately thereafter passing it through a portion of the fluid treating chamber in which it is not directly exposed to the iluid, and then again through the exchange chamber and in close proximity with and parallel to the incoming portions of the material which also pass through the exchange. chamber for reducing losses of vaporized treating iluid.

9. The process oi' treating a. length of material in continuous operation comprising first drying the material, then passing the material through an exchange chamber, then passing it through a treating chamber in which the material is treated with a fluid, then passing the material through a drying chamber in which the material is treated with a gas, and then passing it again through the exchange chamber and in close proximity with and parallel to the incorning portions of the material which also pass through the exchange chamber for reducing losses of vaporized treating fluid.

10. 'I'he process of impregnating a length of material in continuous operation comprising successively passing the material through an exchange chamber, then through a plurality of chambers .in which the material is treated with an impregnatingsfluid, then through a drying chamber in which lt is treated with a drying gas, and then vpassing the material again through the exchange chamber and in close proximity to incoming portions of material for reducing losses of vaporized treating iluid.

11. The process of impregnating a length of material in continuous operation comprising successively passing the material rst through an exchange chamber, then immediately, consecutively through a plurality of chambers in which the material is treated with dierent impregnating fluids, immediately thereafter through a drying chamber in which it is treated with a drying gas, and immediately thereafter passing the material again through the exchange chamber and in close proximity to the incoming portions of material for reducing losses of vaporized treating iiuid.

12. The process of impregnating a length of material in continuous operation comprising successively passing the material ilrst through materia! drying means, immediately thereafter through an exchange chamber, immediately thereafter through an impregnating chamber in which the material is treated with an impregnating fluid, immediately thereafter through a drying chamber in which the material is treated with a drying gas, and immediately thereafter passing the material again through the exchange chamber and in close proximity to incoming portions of the material for reducing losses of va- 10 DOrized treating fluid.

RUDOLF v. GRUBER-REHENBURG. ROBERT s'rBE. 

